


Wipe Your Eyes

by Rouge_Femme



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Domestic, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-14
Updated: 2017-08-14
Packaged: 2018-12-15 09:05:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11802885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rouge_Femme/pseuds/Rouge_Femme
Summary: Natasha Romanoff had been blessed with a colorful life.  Especially when she married Steve Rogers about a year ago. But now, Natasha battles herself as she lets her insecurities bury her after she goes blind. And its up to Steve to reassure her that she didn't need to see the world to know how much he loved her because true love spoke louder through actions rather than words.





	Wipe Your Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> My first Romanogers fanfic. I hope you enjoy it.

Natasha Romanoff stared at the ring on her left ring finger, though her vision was blurry from waking up. It was a simple silver band and a couple of tiny diamonds. But the entire simplicity of it made it look more beautiful to her. She had been smiling more often now, not even caring for what disaster awaits her in the office today.

The sun hasn’t risen, but there was a luminous glow from the sky. It illuminated the face of the person she most adored. Steve Rogers was asleep beside her, shirtless as he buried her in his arms. He smelled of mint and sandalwood and something uniquely Steve. His blond hair fell across his forehead, as his lips let out a small sigh. Natasha could only giggle quietly as she savored these tender moments between them.

He was her husband now. For a year and a month now actually, but she still couldn’t believe it. It seemed only yesterday when they met at his art gallery waiting for the rain to stop. She still remembered how his eyes radiated with happiness when she answered yes to his proposal on a cold Christmas in Michigan. Natasha smiled at the memory.

Steve started to shift in his side of the bed, his arm that was wrapped around her waist held her tighter. His eyes slowly fluttered open, revealing a pair of baby blue eyes. His lips twisted into a lopsided grin.

“Good morning beautiful.” He whispers after he catches her lips in a tender, chaste kiss.

Natasha lets out a laugh as he pulled away. “Stop being a sap, Mr. Rogers.”

“Can’t help it, when I’ve got a wife as pretty as you Mrs. Rogers.” Natasha hot him in the chest playfully.

“Stop it, Steve. I’m cringing from the cheesiness.” Steve’s chest rumbled as they both let out a laugh. After a few moments, the laughter died down and they just contentedly stared at each other’s eyes. “I love you.”

She heard him sigh contentedly, before answering. “I love you too.”

She could live like this forever, wrapped in his arms safe and sound from the rest of the world. Steve captured his lips once more in a much more heated kiss. The alarm went off, announcing that it was time for the lovely couple to go to work. Natasha could only smirk as he heard Steve mutter a curse under his breath.

“We’ll continue later, love. Or we’ll be late again. And I can’t take another more of Maria’s sermons.” She gave him a quick kiss on the lips before hopping off the bed.

“Can’t we continue now?” Steve asked, seemingly bothered by the fact that she had to go to work now. Natasha cocked her head to the side before raising an eyebrow at her husband. “Be down soon, I’ll be preparing breakfast.”

 

After a quick shower, Natasha prepared Steve’s favorite pancakes. Blueberry pancakes to be exact, with just the right amount of maple syrup. Sarah, Steve’s mother, had been very generous on teaching Natasha her recipes. The first time she had tried to cook for Steve, he got indigestion. She made a mental note to visit the woman soon.

“Thanks, love. Want some coffee to go with that?” Steve asks, barging into the kitchen with his blue dress shirt and untied neck tie. Natasha shook her head. Steve only nodded, grabbing the jar of tea she got from the store a week earlier. She loved that she didn’t need to say anything for him to truly understand her. It was like they had this dynamic that they understood each other, even without using words.

Breakfast was uneventful, except for the teases here and there. After she bade Steve a wave goodbye, she was off to work. Her office was only a fifteen minute walk away. And besides, owning a car in New York was only a pleasure rich people could have. Now they weren’t poor, but it was much more economical to not buy a car, yet. Maybe they’ll open the idea when they hear the tiny patter of foot on their apartment floor. The thought made her giddy and excited.

 

As usual work was strenuous. After all, being the secretary of the CEO of a multi-million company was a stressful position. So getting off work was somewhat very satisfying to her. She was off to head out for lunch, when she felt her vision get blurry. The sides of her eyes were getting darker, even though her well lit. She fumbled for her phone on her desk, but failed miserably, creating a large mess of papers documents, pins, and clips.

“Natasha! What happened?” She heard someone holler then ran closer. Her fresh scent of soup and perfume told her that the person that came was Maria Hill. Her eyes burned and she winced in pain that climbed up her temples. Natasha tried to blink it away, but no matter what she did the darkness didn’t go away. She felt herself tear up. “Oh gosh. Hang in there, Nat. I’ll call Steve.”

“No!” Natasha reprimanded. She pleaded. “I don’t want him to know. I don’t want him to worry.”

“But Nat, Steve-“ Maria got cut off when she stood on her own.

“Just help me to the hospital, please.”

 

When the doctor announced that she was going blind, Natasha felt her walls shatter. She felt her world collapse. Was this some kind of sick joke, she thought. Apparently, the sickness ran in my family. My father had it, and so did my grandfather before him. It was curable, he says. But the illness had been detected too late, therefore operation was not possible.

Natasha’s sight was back to normal after a few hours, but she knew that was it. Her vision would fluctuate for a while before the blindness would be permanent. She asked for a leave from Tony, which he graciously gave her. She didn’t want to go home just yet. She didn’t want Steve to see her like this. He came home at 7, and so did she. She was compelled to go home because he knew something was wrong if she went home early. And besides, she didn’t want to lock herself up at home because she knew that she’d start a pity party fest the moment she does. She wanted to think, to clear her mind. And she went to the one place she knew solace.

 

Brooklyn looked more beautiful in the dusk, especially when the orange skies met the blue water. It was a sight to see, a sight she wouldn’t get to see for long. Natasha willed herself not to cry, she had to be brave. Don’t cry, malyshka. It will soon pass; she replayed the sentence like a prayer in her head. It had been said to her by her mother when they went to move to another city in Russia. She had been heartbroken then, but it was nothing towards the heartbreak she had now.

She went home by a cab, a quarter before seven. After making sure that Steve wasn’t home, she took a long bath, crying in large sobs that didn’t die down until she heard the front door open. Steve was home.

“Nat, sweetheart, are you home?” he hollered from the living room. Natasha wiped her eyes quickly before putting on a smile, as best as she could. She knew her face was a mess; her red hair was probably as a bed of disaster. The moment he walked in the bathroom, seeing her in the bathtub, she knew. She knew right then that her read right through her. But she was thankful he didn’t ask. She wasn’t ready to tell him yet. And she doesn’t know when she ever will.

Natasha did all her share of chores just fine, but she was slower than before. She did laundry just fine, and cooking was still a breeze even though she still got headaches and little blackouts. And in the course of a few weeks, Natasha’s eye sight worsened. Sometimes, she read things wrongly and created a mess in the kitchen.

Steve tried to help her every once in a while. But she would reject them, holding on to the fact that she was still perfectly able to do things by herself. She still walked to the office alone, even if she crossed streets. Even Tony told her to lay off work for a few weeks and even offered to pay for her leave, no matter how long it took.

She felt the frustration rise. Why can’t anyone understand her? Don’t they see that id she waits a few weeks more, she just might never do these things forever? She felt the tears prick her eyes, as she cooked in the messy kitchen, her eyesight reduced to blurs.

“Hey, need help?” Steve approached her from behind, slowly taking the ladle from her grip. But Natasha held on tighter. She knew how to cook, she was able.

“No.” She answered tightly. She felt Steve sigh beside her ear.

“Baby, something’s bothering you. And I didn’t ask before because I know you loved your privacy, but it’s taking a toll on you and me. You’re drifting away from me Nat.”

His voice was so full of emotion, so full of sadness that Natasha wanted to tell him everything. But she was afraid. She was afraid he’d leave when he learns that she would be blind soon and she’d become a burden and a patient rather than a partner. She was overcome with so many emotions, but she magnified anger the best so she did just that. Natasha dropped the ladle quite forcefully that she felt splatters of what was supposed to be a dressing for salad.

“You know what. You cook. I’m done here.” She says then stormed to their room, feeling the walls lightly. After slamming the door shut, she wept. This wasn’t her she said. She was bright and happy and sarcastic and sometimes adventurous. She was becoming the person she was dreading to become. Her hands fell to her wedding band, loving the silky feel of it around her finger. She wept harder. Her marriage was failing. And she knew she was the very reason it happened.

That night, she and Steve slept in opposite directions. She knew he was angry, and he had every right to. But weeks turned to months and their marriage grew colder. And it was because she pushed him away. Steve would always try to make amends with her, but she just halted his advances or dodged them entirely. Every single night, she wept herself to sleep, as she slowly lost her vision and everything turned to black.

Then one day, as he bade her goodbye like usual, she held his arm. “I’ll tell you Steve. Let’s talk later when you get home.”

“Okay. I love you.” Those three words hit her home. The pang of guilt in her chest felt heavy as she realized the last time she answered him. She muttered a quick reply before waiting for him. For hours, she sat in solitude, consumed by her insecurities. She played a few scenarios in her head she practiced her confession.

The dreaded time came, and both she and Steve sat on the bed, her hands enclosed in his. H gave her a kind squeeze, encouraging her. Her lips quivered as she readied herself for her confession. Her eyes brimmed with tears, and she could only imagine how Steve would react. He imagined his eyebrows furrowed, his kind blue eyes urging her to tell him what’s wrong so her could console her. Her tears came faster than her confession as she sobbed; only managing to blurt out the words to him in between breaths.

 

“I’m going blind, Steve.”


End file.
